This invention relates to enclosed electrical apparatus, and particularly to wall-hung enclosures for electrical apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in electric meter center enclosures which are subdivided into separate sections for receiving service disconnect apparatus and for receiving electrical metering apparatus.
A meter center comprises a cabinet or enclosure which contains a plurality of meter receptacles commonly referred to as meter sockets and corresponding service disconnect devices such as circuit breakers, fusible switches or the like, in an arrangement whereby several customers may be individually provided with metered electrical service from a common enclosure. Design specifications for meter centers are determined or influenced by several entities. Electric utilities require that the metered portions of such enclosures be sealed in a tamper-proof manner so as to prevent unmetered electric power to be drawn therefrom. Installation and service requirements on the part of the utility and contractor dictate that each customer's incoming electric service may be worked on by authorized personnel with a minimum or no disruption in electric service to other customers served by the same meter center and with a minimal amount of disassembly of the meter center enclosure. The electrical apparatus distributor requires that the meter center be sufficiently flexible in design whereby the number of different units required to be stocked by the distributor may be held to a minimum. In providing a meter center which meets all of the aformentioned and other requirements, such as those of regional and national codes, the meter center manufacturer also has a basic competitive requirement that the resulting structure be capable of efficient and economical manufacture. A significant factor in this regard is to simplify and reduce manufacturing assembly time. This may be accomplished by minimizing the number of separate, distinct parts required to construct a meter center and by designing parts which facilitate assembly of the structure.